Process for making optical disk substrates

ABSTRACT

A process for producing high-density thin type optical disk substrates having good replicability and birefringence sufficient for practical use. In filling the resin into the cavity, the stress on the resin is reduced by controlling the relation of the cavity width and the injection compression force to reduce birefringence. Further, the mirror surface of the mold is maintained at a certain temperature to facilitate the resin flow and a good replicability and reduction of birefringence is achieved by terminating the resin filling and starting the compression process at the time at which the pressure of the resin filling is at a minimum.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a process for producing an optical disksubstrate, and to an apparatus for making optical disk substrates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recently, optical disks are receiving attention as memory media capableof recording a large capacity and operating at a high speed. Examples ofoptical disks include disks only for reproduction such as CD, VD andCD-ROM, and disks for both recording and reproduction such as write-oncetypes, erasable writing and reproduction disks such as rewritable types.As substrates of such optical disks, resin substrates such aspolycarbonate resins, acryl resins, polyolefine resins are commonlyused.

Such disk substrates are commonly formed by injection molding orinjection-compression molding in consideration of productivity. That is,by injecting a melted resin material into the cavity formed between aclamped stable mold and a movable mold having a flat circular stampertherein, a flat disk substrate having pits and grooves replicated fromthe surface of the stamper can be formed. Molding machines can beclassified into two types, namely, straight hydraulic type and toggletype. These types of molding machines are illustrated in "PlasticTechnology Handbook" written by Yujiro Sakurauchi published fromInstitute for Industrial Research in 1993. FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) arediagrams of the mechanical structures of these machines.

FIG. 7 (a) illustrates a straight hydraulic type structure. Numeral 101is a stable mold which is attached to a large plate 103 with bolts.Numeral 102 is a movable mold which is attached to a large plate 104with bolts. The movable mold 102 can interfit or part with the stablemold 101 by being parallelly moved with piston 107 driven by hydrauliccircuit 106 and guided with tie bars 105 which are installed on thelarge plate 104. In this case, clamping and the clamping pressurebetween the stable mold 101 and the movable mold 102 are adjusted bymeans of the hydraulic circuit 106.

FIG. 7 (b) illustrates a toggle type structure. Numeral 101 is a stablemold which is attached to a large plate 103 with bolts. Numeral 102 is amovable mold which is attached to a large plate 104 with bolts. Themovable mold 102 can interfit or part with the stable mold 101 by beingparallelly moved by toggle 110 and piston 109 driven by hydrauliccircuit 108 and guided with tie bars 105 which are installed on thelarge plate 104. Clamping and clamping pressure between the stable mold101 and the movable mold 102 are adjusted by means of hydraulic circuit111 via hydraulic pipes 113 connected to four tie bars 105. Theinjection compression pressure after clamping the molds is applied bythe hydraulic circuit 112 on the large plate 104 opposed to the movablemold 102.

Effort has been made to form optical disk substrates having a higherdensity with the above-mentioned molding machines.

However, it is difficult to form, for example, a polycarbonate resinsubstrate having an outside diameter of approximately 120 mm, athickness of approximately 1.2 mm, a track pitch of approximately 1.0 μmand a pitch depth of approximately 110 nm, which specifications allowfor satisfactory replicability.

Further, in order to achieve high density, the aperture of the objectivelens should be enlarged in order to improve the diameter of the rayirradiated to a optical disk. In this case, the aberration of theinclination is in proportion to the substrate thickness and the cube ofthe aperture. Thus to control the pickup, the substrate should be thin.However, in order to form a thin substrate, it becomes necessary to casta melted resin material into a narrower gap. This leads to problems suchas difficulty in obtaining replication due to the tendency that thesubstrate can easily be cooled off, and worsened birefringence or warpdue to increased stress.

In order to mold such thin substrates, it becomes necessary to fill aresin material into a narrower gap. Therefore there are problems such asdifficulty in obtaining replication due to the tendency that the resincan easily be cooled off, resulting in the deteriorated birefringence orwarp.

Since a resin material is filled into a narrower gap, a large velocitygradient is generated in the vicinity of the mold surface, therebygenerating a shearing stress caused by the viscos friction between thesolid layer formed by cooling-off by the contact with the mold wall andthe fluid layer in the center part. As a result, the resin generates amolecular orientation and becomes solidified without relaxation ofstress to have a residual stress therein. Further, the center part ofthe resin becomes solidified to have a residual stress while receiving auniform pressure like a hydrostatic pressure. Since a specific atomicgroup in the polymer becomes oriented to a specific orientation by thestress, the birefringence is generated as a consequence.

Besides, since a residual stress is not homogeneous in the direction ofthe substrate surface nor symmetrical in the direction of the thickness,the warp is generated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an objectof the present invention is to provide a process and apparatus formaking high density optical disk substrates having good substratereplicability and birefringence sufficient for practical use in a thinresin optical disk substrate having a thickness of less than 1 mm.

In order to achieve the above and other objects and advantages, a firstembodiment of the process for producing disk substrates of the inventionis an injection-compression molding method for optical disk substratescomprising the steps of injecting melted resin into a cavity formedbetween a pair of molds and narrowing the width of the cavity bycompressing the molds, wherein the minimum cavity width is narrower thanthe desired substrate thickness by more than 0 mm and less than 0.1 mm,the maximum cavity width is wider than the minimum cavity width by morethan 0.15 mm and less than 0.3 mm, and when a mold without a corepressing mechanism is used the initial clamping force is more than 0 toless than 10 tons, and when a mold with a core pressing mechanism isused the initial injection compression force is more than 0 ton and lessthan 10 tons.

In the above-mentioned first embodiment of the invention, it ispreferable that at least one force selected from the group consisting ofthe initial mold clamping force and the initial injection compressionforce is applied in the range of 0 ton to 10 tons, and a force greaterthan the force is further applied.

A second embodiment of the process for producing optical disk substratesof the invention is an injection-compression method of molding opticaldisk substrates comprising the steps of injecting melted resin into acavity formed between a pair of molds and narrowing the width of thecavity by compressing the molds, wherein the inflow port through whichthe melted resin is filled is closed and the compression process startswithin the period between 0.1 second before and 0.3 second after thetime at which the pressure of the resin filled in the cavity becomesminimum.

In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, it is preferablethat at least the mirror surface temperature of the mold in which thestamper is installed is lower than the glass transition temperature ofthe resin by more than 5 K and less than 25 K. Temperature can beadjusted by a means such as controlling the temperature of at least thecooling medium flowing in the cooling pipe of the mold having thestamper installed thereon.

In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, it is preferablethat a resin material is further dried before melting.

An apparatus for producing optical disk substrates of the invention isan injection-compression molding machine which forms disk substrates bymeans of injecting melted resin into a cavity formed between a pair ofmolds and narrowing the width of the cavity formed between the molds.The apparatus comprises an opening and closing means to open and closethe pair of the molds, a heating means to melt the resin, an injectionmeans to fill the melted resin into the cavity between the pair of theclosed molds, a pressure maintenance means to prevent reflux of theresin in the cavity toward the inflow port, a compression means tofurther clamp the pair of the molds after filling, a means to detect thepoint of time at which the pressure of the resin filled in the cavity isat a minimum, wherein the inflow port through which the melted resin isfilled into the cavity is closed or the compression operation iscommenced in the period between 0 second and 0.3 second after the timeat which the pressure of the resin becomes minimum.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, it is preferable to have a means tocontrol at least the mirror surface temperature of the mold having thestamper installed thereon so that the mirror surface temperature islower than the glass transition temperature of the resin by more than 5K and less than 25 K at the time of filling the melted resin in thecavity formed between a pair of closed molds.

In the above-mentioned apparatus of the invention, it is preferable thata means to dry a resin material before melting is further installed.

The above-mentioned first or second production process of the inventionprovides a high density optical disk substrate comprising a thin resinsubstrate and having good replicability and a birefringence sufficientfor the practical use as a disk. That is, since the molds are notcompletely closed so as to have a wider cavity width to facilitate theresin flow therein, and since the pressure from the molds to the meltedresin is reduced as much as the substrate thickness can be controlled todecrease the stress generated in the melted resin at the time of fillingin the melted resin into the cavity formed between a pair of closedmolds, the birefringence of the molded resin substrate can be lowered.

Further, since the inflow port of the resin is closed around the time atwhich the stress on the melted resin filled in the cavity formed betweena pair of closed molds becomes minimum to reduce the residual stress inthe melted resin and the compression process is commenced before theresin solidifies, the replication and birefringence of the molded resinsubstrate can be improved. By adjusting the mirror surface temperatureof the molds to be adequate, the replication and the birefringence canbe improved as well.

By detecting the time at which the stress to the melted resin filled inthe cavity formed between a pair of closed molds becomes minimum, whichvaries depending upon the molding conditions to start closing the inflowport of the melted resin and compression process, stable substratereplication and birefringence can always be obtained.

The apparatus for producing optical disk substrates of the inventionreduces the stress on the resin and decreases the birefringence byfilling the resin into the cavity with a specific cavity width and aninjection-compression force. Further, good replication and birefringencereduction can be provided by having a specific mold temperature tofacilitate the resin flow, by stopping the filling of the resin at thetime at which the pressure of filling the resin becomes minimum andstarting the compression process, Consequently, high quality disksubstrates can be produced efficiently.

The apparatus for producing optical disks of the invention reduces thestress generated in the melted resin and reduces the birefringence inthe molded resin substrate since the molds are not completely closed tohave a wider cavity width to facilitate the resin flow therein and thepressure from the molds to the melted resin is reduced as much as thesubstrate thickness can be controlled to decrease the stress generatedin the melted resin at the time of injecting the melted resin into thecavity between a pair of closed molds.

Further, since the inflow port of the resin is closed at around the timeat which the stress on the melted resin filled in the cavity formedbetween a pair of closed molds becomes minimum to reduce the residualstress in the melted resin and the compression process is commencedbefore the resin solidifies, the replication and birefringence of themolded resin substrate can be improved. By adjusting the mirror surfacetemperature of the molds to be adequate, the replication and thebirefringence can be improved as well.

By detecting the time at which the stress to the melted resin filled inthe cavity formed between a pair of closed molds becomes minimum whichvaries depending upon the molding conditions and starting closing theinflow port of the melted resin and compression process based on thedetected time, stable substrate replication and birefringence can alwaysbe accomplished.

By further having a means to dry a resin material before melting,deterioration of the molecular weight caused by the hydrolysis of theresin can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a section view of the mold used in Example 1, and Examples 4to 6 in the invention.

FIG. 2 is a section view of the mold used in Examples 2 to 4 and Example6 in the invention.

FIG. 3 is a section view illustrating the structure of the moldingmachine used in Examples 1 to 6 of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the hourly variation of the stressapplied to the screw used in Example 5 of the invention.

FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are charts illustrating the function of theinvention with the molding machine used in Example 6 of the invention.

FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (e) are graphs illustrating the signal processing withthe detector of the pressure on the screw and the detector of the timeat which the pressure becomes minimum of the molding machine describedin Example 6 of the invention.

FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) are plane views illustrating the outline ofmechanical parts of conventional molding machines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention will be further illustrated referring to Examples. TheExamples are not intended to limit the invention in any way.

EXAMPLE 1

First, an injection-compression molding method with a toggle typemolding machine will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a molding machine ofthe invention. Numeral 1 denotes a material drying device for preventingmolecular weight reduction caused by a resin absorbing moisture from theair and subsequent hydrolysis of the resin material. Commonly usedresins include a polycarbonate resin, a poly(meth)acrylate resin (PMMA),a urethane resin and a polyester resin.

Preferable drying methods include a hot-air circulating drying methodand a vacuum drying method. Preferable drying conditions in a hot-aircirculating drying method with the example of a polycarbonate resin arethat polycarbonate resin pellets are maintained in the temperature of100° to 130° C. for 2 to 10 hours to be dried. As for a vacuum dryingmethod, polycarbonate resin pellets are maintained in the temperature of60° to 120° C. for 1 to 10 hours with a vacuum degree of 1 to 100 torr.It is preferable to obtain the water absorption rate of thepolycarbonate resin pellets of 0.015 weight % or less. In the followingExamples, a hot-air circulating drying method was employed and treatedwith the temperature of 120° C. for 6 hours. And consequently the waterabsorbing rate of 0.015 weight % was achieved.

The polycarbonate resin used in the following Examples have a meltingpoint of 240° C. and the glass transition temperature of 150° C.

A resin material is supplied to the hopper 2 from the material dryingdevice 1 by means of hot air. Pellets of a uniform size are generallyused as the resin material. The resin material in the hopper 2 isconveyed to the screw 3. The resin material is heated by means of theheating cylinder 5 while rotating the screw 3 driven by the motor 4. Inthis process, the resin is melted and kneaded. Numeral 6 is thestationary mold and 7 is the movable mold. The stationary mold 6 and themovable mold 7 are fixed to the large plate with bolts. By means ofopening and closing the molds, the movable mold 7 parts or interfitswith the stationary mold 6. Numeral 36 is the base. With the stationarymold 6 and the movable mold closed and a clamping pressure applied, thescrew 3 is advanced without rotating by means of the hydraulic circuit8. Then the melted resin material is injected into the cavity 10 via thenozzle 9 (injection process). Since the duration of the injection periodis such a short time (less than 1 second), it is controlled by theposition of the screw.

In order to prevent reflux of the resin material to the screw 3,pressure is applied to the screw 3 by means of the hydraulic circuit 8when the resin material is filled in the cavity 10 (pressure maintenanceprocess).

Then, with the movable mold 7 clamped to the stationary mold 6 by meansof hydraulic circuit 111 via tie bars 105, the injection-compressionpressure is applied to the core portion of the movable mold 7 by meansof the hydraulic circuit 112 (see FIG. 7 (b)) and maintained. This stepcomprise the compression process. The resin material is cooled off tothe point lower than the glass transition temperature of the resin(i.e., a cooling process). The molded substrate is ejected afterdetatching the movable mold 7 from the stationary mold 6. Theabove-mentioned compression process and the cooling process can beconducted either independently or simultaneously.

The structure of the mold used in this Example is illustrated in FIG. 1.In this structure the stamper 11 is installed at the side of the movablemold 7. The stamper inner holder 12 is installed at the inside perimeterof the stamper 11, and the stamper outer holder 13 is installed at theoutside perimeter of the stamper 11. The stamper outside holder 13 alsodetermines the outside diameter of the molded substrate.

The stamper 11 is closely in contact with the movable mold mirrorportion 14 in which cooling conduit 15 is installed to maintain acertain temperature by flowing cool water through it. The movable moldmirror portion 14 is integrated with the movable mold substrate 16 withbolts via O rings.

At the center of the movable mold 7 are the ejector punch 17, cut punch18, and ejector pin 19. The cut punch 18 is used to form a hole at thecenter of the molded substrate. At the time of ejecting the substrateafter molding, the ejector punch 17 and the ejector pin 19 used are tomechanically push off the substrate product and residual portion (sprueportion) to form a hole, respectively.

By contacting the stationary mold knock ring 21 at the outside perimeterof the stationary mold 6, the movable mold knock ring 20 at the outsideperimeter of the movable mold 7 determines the minimum width of thecavity 10 formed between the molds. Further, the movable mold guide ring22 at the outside perimeter of the movable mold knock ring 20 determinesthe maximum width of the cavity 10 formed between the molds bycontacting to the stationary mold guide ring 23. That is, by the contactof the movable mold guide ring 22 and the stationary mold guide ring 23,clamping is conducted, and injection-compression is applied by furthermoving the core portion of the movable mold 7 to the point at which themovable mold knock ring 20 and the stationary mold knock ring 21 contacteach other.

The stationary mold knock ring 21, the stationary mold guide ring 23 andthe stationary mold mirror portion 25 are installed to the stationarymold substrate 24 of the stable mold 6. The cooling conduit 26 isinstalled in the stationary mold mirror portion 25 to maintain aspecific temperature by the flow of cool water therethrough.

At the center of the stationary mold 6 is the sprue bush 27 via whichthe melted resin injected from the nozzle 9 (see FIG. 3) flows into thecavity 10. In order to facilitate the removal of resin in the sprue bush27 portion after molding, the sprue bush 27 is cooled off to shrink andseparate the solidified resin. At the perimeter of the sprue bush 27 isthe stationary end bush 28 to provide insulation between the sprue bush27 and the stationary end mold mirror portion 25.

To separate the molded substrate from the stamper 11, blown air is usedin addition to the mechanical structure of the ejector punch 17, namely,the blow (or flow) of the compressed air is applied from the portionbetween the stamper inside holder 2 and the ejector punch 17 of themovable mold 7 side, and from the portion between the stationary moldmirror portion 25 and the stable end bush 28 of the stationary mold 6side, respectively.

Table 1 illustrates the correspondence among the minimum cavity width(at room temperature with the desired substrate thickness as thestandard), the controllable minimum substrate thickness (with thedesired substrate thickness as the standard) and the maximum absolutevalue of birefringence of the desired substrate thickness. The maximumcavity width was determined to be thicker than the desired substratethickness by 0.2 mm. The difference between the values of the maximumwidth and the minimum width of the cavity was defined as the compressionmargin. The outside diameter of the substrate was 120 mm and the desiredsubstrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The signal area of the stamper 11 was apit with a track pitch of 1.0 μm and a depth of 110 nm. A polycarbonateresin was used as the resin material. The resin temperature was 380° C.,the mold temperature was 125° C., and the sprue temperature was 60° C.The clamping force was 40 tons. The injection-compression force at thetime of filling in the melted resin was 4 tons and at the time ofcompression process after pressure maintenance was 20 tons. The moldingcycle was 15 seconds.

"birefrigence" is a nature of light conducting through an anisotropicpolymer, that is, a phenomenon of the emergence of two refracted raysfrom a ray incident to an anisotropic polymer. The birefringence wasmeasured by the vertical incidence of a parallel ray of a helium neongas laser and the value of the double path was measured.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                                     controllable minimum                                                                        maximum absolute                                   minimum cavity width                                                                       substrate thickness                                                                         value of                                           (with the desired                                                                          (with the desired                                                                           birefringence                                      substrate thickness                                                                        substrate thickness                                                                         (desired substrate                                 as the standard)                                                                           as the standard)                                                                            thickness)                                         ______________________________________                                         0.05 mm      0.03 mm      --                                                    0 mm      -0.02 mm      38 nm                                              -0.05 mm     -0.07 mm      41 nm                                               -0.1 mm     -0.12 mm      50 nm                                              -0.15 mm      0.17 mm      128 nm                                             ______________________________________                                         Note:                                                                         a plus figure denotes that it is thicker than the desired substrate           thickness.                                                               

From Table 1, it was learned that the birefringence becomes 50 nm orless when the minimum cavity width is thinner than the desired substratethickness by 0.1 mm or less. The birefringence becomes larger if it ismeasured by the oblique incidence instead of the vertical incidence intothe polycarbonate resin substrate of which birefringence measured 50 nm.By the incidence of 30°, the birefringence became approximately 100 nm.Further, since the ray irradiated into the optical disk was aconvergence ray, a high density optical disk using a high aperture of0.6 or more (even using a reproduction-only type) needs a birefringenceof the vertical incidence of at least 50 nm. Moreover, since the widthbetween the molds can be controlled in the opening direction to obtain asubstrate of a desired thickness, the minimum cavity width cannot bethicker than the desired substrate thickness. Therefore it was learnedthat the minimum cavity width can be thinner than the desired substratethickness by from 0 mm to 0.1 mm.

The minimum cavity width was thinner than the desired substratethickness by 0.05 mm. The substrate outside diameter was 120 mm, and thedesired substrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The signal area of the stamper11 was a pit with track pitch of 1.0 μm m and a depth of 110 nm. Theresin material was a polycarbonate resin. The resin temperature was 380°C., the mold temperature was 125° C., and the sprue temperature was 60°C. The clamping force was 40 tons. The injection-compression force at.the time of filling in the melted resin was 4 tons and at the time ofcompression process after pressure maintenance was 20 tons. The moldingcycle was 15 seconds. The birefringence was measured by the verticalincidence of parallel ray of a helium neon gas laser and the value ofdouble path was measured. The results are shown in Table 2.

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                                     maximum absolute                                                                           shot variation of                                                value of     substrate thickness                                              birefringence                                                                              (including                                                       (desired substrate                                                                         variation within                                    compression margin                                                                         thickness)   substrate)                                          ______________________________________                                         0.1 mm      75 nm        ±25 μm                                        0.15 mm      49 nm        ±27 μm                                         0.2 mm      41 nm        ±30 μm                                        0.25 mm      42 nm        ±33 μm                                         0.3 mm      38 nm        ±35 μm                                        0.35 mm      36 nm        ±42 μm                                         0.4 mm      35 nm        ±51 μm                                        ______________________________________                                    

Table 2 shows that the compression margin becomes greater, thebirefringence becomes increasingly better, and the shot variation of thesubstrate thickness becomes greater. That is because the melted resinflow was facilitated by widening of the cavity 10 width at the time offilling the melted resin into the cavity 10, whereas the molds needed tomove in a larger distance to be closed at cooling off the resin toadjust the thickness of the substrate as the compression margin becamegreater.

Table 2 also shows that the absolute value of the birefringence became50 nm or less when the compression margin was 0.15 mm or more, and theshot variation of the substrate thickness became ±35 μm or less when thecompression margin was 0.3 μ or less. If the substrate thicknessvariation exceeds ±35 μm, aberration becomes great enough to affect thesignal reading. Therefore, the standard of the substrate thicknessherein was determined to be ±35 μm. The standard of the birefringence of50 nm was determined as explained in Table 1.

From Table 2, it was demonstrated that the preferable compressionmargin, namely, the difference between the maximum cavity width and theminimum cavity width was in the range of from 0.15 mm to 0.3 mm.

The relationship between the injection-compression force at the time offilling the melted resin and the birefringence is shown in Table 3. Theminimum cavity width was determined to be thinner than the desiredsubstrate thickness by 0.05 mm, and the compression margin wasdetermined to be 0.2 mm. The substrate outside diameter was 120 mm, andthe desired substrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The signal area of thestamper 11 was a pit with track pitch of 1.0 μm and a depth of 110 nm. Apolycarbonate resin was used as the resin material. The resintemperature was 380° C., the mold temperature was 125° C., and the spruetemperature was 60° C. The clamping force was 40 tons. Theinjection-compression force at the time of compression process afterpressure maintenance was 20 tons. The molding cycle was 15 seconds. Thebirefringence was measured by the vertical incidence of parallel ray ofa helium neon gas laser, and the value of double path was measured.

                  TABLE 3                                                         ______________________________________                                        injection-compression force                                                                   maximum absolute value                                        (at the time of filling in                                                                    of birefringence                                              the resin)      (desired substrate thickness)                                 ______________________________________                                        0 ton           40 nm                                                          4 tons         41 nm                                                          8 tons         47 nm                                                         10 tons         50 nm                                                         15 tons         73 nm                                                         20 tons         109 nm                                                        ______________________________________                                    

Table 3 demonstrates that the absolute value of the birefringencebecomes 50 nm or less when the injection-compression force at the timeof filling in the resin is 10 tons or less. In this case, since thewidth of cavity 10 before filling the melted resin into the cavity 10was minimum due to the injection-compression force but the width ofcavity 10 became maximum after filling the melted resin into the cavity10 due to the resin pressure larger than the injection-compressionforce, consequently the resin flow was facilitated to reduce the stresson the resin and improve birefringence.

EXAMPLE 2

This Example illustrates the application of the invention to a straighthydraulic type molding machine. As FIG. 7 (b) illustrates, in a toggletype molding machine, opening and closing the mold, clamping the moldand injection-compression are driven by the hydraulic circuit 108, thehydraulic circuit 111 and the hydraulic circuit 112, independently. Onthe other hand, as FIG. 7 (a) illustrates, in a straight hydraulic typemolding machine, opening and closing the mold, clamping the mold andinjection-compression are conducted by the hydraulic circuit 106,collectively.

The mold structure of this Example is illustrated in FIG. 2. Comparedwith the method of moving the core portion as described in FIG. 1, themold does not have a stationary mold guide ring 23 and a movable moldguide ring 22. The mold of FIG. 1 determines the minimum cavity widthand the maximum cavity width, whereas the mold of FIG. 2 determines onlythe minimum cavity width.

The correspondence among the minimum cavity width (at room temperature,with the desired substrate thickness as the standard), the controllableminimum substrate thickness (with the desired substrate thickness as thestandard) and the maximum absolute value of birefringence (desiredsubstrate thickness) are shown in Table 4. The maximum cavity width wasdetermined to be thicker than the desired substrate thickness by 0.2 mm.The outside diameter of the substrate was 120 mm, and the desiredsubstrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The signal area of the stamper 11 was apit with a track pitch of 1.0 μm and a depth of 110 nm. A polycarbonateresin was used as the resin material. The resin temperature was 380° C.,the mold temperature was 125° C., and the sprue temperature was 60° C.The first clamping force was 4 tons, and the second clamping force was20 tons. The molding cycle was 15 seconds. The birefringence wasmeasured by the vertical incidence of a parallel ray of a helium neongas laser and the value of the double path was measured.

                  TABLE 4                                                         ______________________________________                                                     controllable minimum                                                                        maximum absolute                                   minimum cavity width                                                                       substrate thickness                                                                         value of                                           (with the desired                                                                          (with the desired                                                                           birefringence                                      substrate thickness                                                                        substrate thickness                                                                         (desired substrate                                 as the standard)                                                                           as the standard)                                                                            thickness)                                         ______________________________________                                         0.05 mm      0.03 mm      --                                                    0 mm      -0.02 mm      38 nm                                              -0.05 mm     -0.07 mm      42 nm                                               -0.1 mm     -0.12 mm      49 nm                                              -0.15 mm     -0.17 mm      107 nm                                             ______________________________________                                         Note:                                                                         a plus figure denotes that it is thicker than the desired substrate           thickness.                                                               

Table 4 demonstrates that the birefringence becomes 50 nm or less whenthe minimum cavity width is thinner than the desired substrate thicknessby 0.1 mm or less. In addition, in order to achieve the desiredsubstrate thickness, the minimum cavity width cannot be thicker than thedesired substrate thickness since the molds can be controlled only tothe direction of opening. Thus it was proven that the preferable minimumcavity width is thicker than the desired substrate thickness in therange of from 0 mm and 0.1 mm.

Next the maximum cavity width will be discussed. The minimum cavitywidth was determined to be thinner than the desired substrate thicknessby 0.05 mm. The opening degree of the molds was measured with a laserdisplacement meter. The outside diameter of the substrate was 120 mm andthe desired substrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The signal area of thestamper 11 was a pit a with track pitch of 1.0 μm and a depth of nm. Apolycarbonate resin was used as the resin material. The resintemperature was 380° C., the mold temperature was 125° C. and the spruetemperature was 60° C. The first clamping force was 4 tons and thesecond clamping force was 20 tons. The molding cycle was 15 seconds. Thebirefringence was measured by the vertical incidence of a parallel rayof a helium neon gas laser and the value of the double path wasmeasured. And the measured result is shown in Table 5.

                  TABLE 5                                                         ______________________________________                                                     maximum absolute                                                                           shot variation of                                                value of     substrate thickness                                              birefringence                                                                              (including                                                       (desired substrate                                                                         variation within                                    compression margin                                                                         thickness)   substrate)                                          ______________________________________                                         0.1 mm      69 nm        ±23 μm                                        0.15 mm      47 nm        ±26 μm                                         0.2 mm      42 nm        ±31 μm                                        0.25 mm      41 nm        ±33 μm                                         0.3 mm      38 nm        ±35 μm                                        0.35 mm      33 nm        ±43 μm                                         0.4 mm      31 nm        ±55 μm                                        ______________________________________                                    

Table 5 demonstrates that as the compression margin becomes greater, thebirefringence becomes better, and the shot variation of the substratethickness becomes greater.

Table 5 further shows that the absolute value of birefringence became 50nm or less when the compression margin was 0.15 mm or more, and the shotvariation of the substrate thickness becomes ±35 μm or less when thecompression margin was 0.3 μm or less. Consequently it was learned thatthe preferable compression margin, namely, the difference between themaximum cavity width, and the minimum cavity width is in the range offrom 0.15 mm to 0.3 mm.

The relation between the first injection compression force at the timeof filling the melted resin and the birefringence is illustrated inTable 6. The minimum cavity width was determined to be thinner than thedesired substrate thickness by 0.05 mm, and the compression margin wasdetermined to be 0.2 mm. The substrate outside diameter was 120 mm, andthe desired substrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The signal area of thestamper 11 was a pit with a track pitch of 1.0 μm and a depth of 110 nm.A polycarbonate resin was used as the resin material. The resintemperature was 380° C., the mold temperature was 25° C. and the spruetemperature was 60° C. The second clamping force was 20 tons. Themolding cycle was 15 seconds. The birefringence was measured by thevertical incidence of a parallel ray of a helium neon gas laser and thevalue of the double path was measured.

                  TABLE 6                                                         ______________________________________                                                      maximum absolute value                                                        of birefringence                                                first clamping force                                                                        (desired substrate thickness)                                   ______________________________________                                        0 ton         35 nm                                                            4 tons       42 nm                                                            8 tons       46 nm                                                           10 tons       50 nm                                                           15 tons       81 nm                                                           20 tons       111 nm                                                          ______________________________________                                    

Table 6 demonstrates that the absolute value of the birefringencebecomes 50 nm or less when the first clamping force is 10 tons or less.In this case, since the pressure of the melted resin filled in thecavity 10 became greater to widen the width of the cavity 10,consequently the resin flow was facilitated to reduce the stress to theresin and improve the birefringence.

In this Example use of a straight hydraulic molding machine wasillustrated but the same operation can be conducted with the mold ofFIG. 2 in a toggle type molding machine as well. When a toggle typemolding machine was used, the injection-compression structure to movethe core portion as illustrated in Example 1 is not used and clampingwas conducted only with a clamping structure. However, similar resultswere observed with a toggle type molding machine as the straighthydraulic molding machine under the same molding conditions.

EXAMPLE 3

In Example 1 and Example 2, the force to compress the cavity 10 wasapplied in two stages, namely, with a smaller first force and a greatersecond force. In this Example, the use of a one stage force to compressthe cavity 10 applied is illustrated. The mold with the structure ofFIG. 2 was used in a straight hydraulic molding machine.

The correspondence among the minimum cavity width (at room temperature,with the desired substrate thickness as the standard), the controllableminimum substrate thickness (with the desired substrate thickness as theStandard) and the maximum absolute value of birefringence is illustratedin Table 7. The maximum cavity width was determined to be thicker thanthe desired substrate thickness by 0.2 mm. The outside diameter of thesubstrate was 120 mm and the desired substrate thickness was 0.6 mm. Thesignal area of the stamper 11 was a pit with a track pitch of 1.0 μm anda depth of 110 nm. A polycarbonate resin was used as the resin material.The resin temperature was 380° C., the mold temperature was 130° C. andthe sprue temperature was 60° C. The clamping force was 8 tons. Themolding cycle was 15 seconds. The birefringence was measured by thevertical incidence of a parallel ray of a helium neon gas laser and thevalue of the double path was measured.

                  TABLE 7                                                         ______________________________________                                                     controllable minimum                                                                        maximum absolute                                   minimum cavity width                                                                       substrate thickness                                                                         value of                                           (with the desired                                                                          (with the desired                                                                           birefringence                                      substrate thickness                                                                        substrate thickness                                                                         (desired substrate                                 as the standard)                                                                           as the standard)                                                                            thickness)                                         ______________________________________                                         0.05 mm      0.03 mm      --                                                    0 mm      -0.02 mm      44 nm                                              -0.05 mm     -0.07 mm      47 nm                                               -0.1 mm     -0.12 mm      50 nm                                              -0.15 mm     -0.17 mm      105 nm                                             ______________________________________                                         Note:                                                                         a plus figure denotes that it is thicker than the desired substrate           thickness.                                                               

It was learned from Table 7 that the birefringence becomes nm or lesswhen the minimum cavity width is thinner than the desired substratethickness by 0.1 mm or less. In addition, since the molds can becontrolled only in the direction of opening to achieve the desiredsubstrate thickness, the minimum cavity width cannot be thicker than thedesired substrate thickness. Thus, it was learned that the preferableminimum cavity width is thicker than the desired substrate thickness inthe range of from 0 mm and 0.1

Next the maximum cavity width will be discussed. The minimum cavitywidth was determined to be thinner than the desired substrate thicknessby 0.05 mm. The opening degree of the molds was measured with a laserdisplacement meter. The outside diameter of the substrate was 120 mm,and the desired substrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The signal area of thestamper 11 was a pit with a track pitch of 1.0 μm and a depth of 110 nm.A polycarbonate resin was used as the resin material. The resintemperature was 380° C., the mold temperature was 130° C. and the spruetemperature was 60° C. The clamping force was 8 tons. The molding cyclewas 15 seconds. The birefringence was measured by the vertical incidenceof a parallel ray of a helium neon gas laser and the value of the doublepath was measured. The results are shown in Table 8.

                  TABLE 8                                                         ______________________________________                                                     maximum absolute                                                                           shot variation of                                                value of     substrate thickness                                              birefringence                                                                              (including                                                       (desired substrate                                                                         variation within                                    compression margin                                                                         thickness)   substrate)                                          ______________________________________                                         0.1 mm      72 nm        ±29 μm                                        0.15 mm      50 nm        ±31 μm                                         0.2 mm      47 nm        ±33 μm                                        0.25 mm      44 nm        ±33 μm                                         0.3 mm      40 nm        ±35 μm                                        0.35 mm      36 nm        ±45 μm                                         0.4 mm      32 nm        ±57 μm                                        ______________________________________                                    

Table 8 demonstrates that as the compression margin becomes greater, thebirefringence becomes better, and the shot variation of the substratethickness becomes greater.

Table 8 also shows that the absolute value of birefringence became 50 nmor less when the compression margin was 0.15 mm or more, and the shotvariation of the substrate thickness became ±35 μm m or less when thecompression margin was 0.3 μm or less. Consequently it was learned thatthe preferable compression margin, namely, the difference between themaximum cavity width and the minimum cavity width was in the range offrom 0.15 mm to 0.3 mm.

The relation among the clamping force at the time of filling the meltedresin, the birefringence and the substrate thickness is illustrated inTable 9. The minimum cavity width was determined to be thinner than thedesired substrate thickness by 0.05 mm, and the compression margin wasdetermined to be 0.2 mm. The substrate outside diameter was 120 mm, andthe desired substrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The signal area of thestamper 11 was a pit with a track pitch of 1.0 μm and a depth of 110 nm.A polycarbonate resin was used as the resin material. The resintemperature was 380° C., the mold temperature was 130° C. and the spruetemperature was 60° C. The second clamping force was 20 tons. Themolding cycle was 15 seconds. The birefringence was measured by thevertical incidence of a parallel ray of a helium neon gas laser and thevalue of the double path was measured.

                  TABLE 9                                                         ______________________________________                                                    maximum absolute                                                                           shot variation of                                                value of     substrate thickness                                              birefringence                                                                              (including                                                       (desired substrate                                                                         variation within                                     clamping force                                                                            thickness)   substrate)                                           ______________________________________                                        2 tons      35 nm        ±42 nm                                            4 tons      42 nm        ±39 nm                                            6 tons      44 nm        ±35 nm                                            8 tons      47 nm        ±33 nm                                            10 tons     50 nm        ±32 nm                                            15 tons     75 nm        ±30 nm                                            ______________________________________                                    

It was learned from Table 9 that the absolute value of the birefringencebecomes 50 nm or less when the clamping force is 10 tons or less. Inthis case, since the pressure of the melted resin filled in the cavity10 became greater to widen the width of the cavity 10, consequently theresin flow was facilitated to reduce the stress to the resin and improvethe birefringence. Further, the shot variation of the substratethickness became ±35 μm or less when the clamping force was 6 tons ormore. This is because the maximum cavity width became thinner as theclamping force became greater and the moving distance of the surface ofthe cavity at the time of cooling off reduced. Therefore it was learnedthat the preferable clamping force when applied in one stage is in therange of from 6 tons to 10 tons.

In this Example, the use of a straight hydraulic molding machine wasillustrated. However, the same operation can be conducted with a toggletype molding machine as well. When a toggle type molding machine wasused, the injection-compression structure to move the core portion asillustrated in Example 1 is not used, and clamping was conducted onlywith a clamping structure. Similar results were observed with a toggletype molding machine as the straight hydraulic molding machine under thesame molding conditions.

EXAMPLE 4

When a substrate was molded from a polycarbonate resin with an outsidediameter of 120 mm, a thickness of 0.6 mm, the signal area of thestamper 11 was a pit with a track pitch of 1.0 μm and a depth of 110 nmin the production process of Examples 1 to 3, the absolute value ofbirefringence of 50 nm or less could be achieved at the mold temperatureof 120° C. or more under the condition that the resin temperature was380° C. In this case, the pit could be replicated sufficiently.

Then molding of substrates having higher density signal portion wasfurther discussed. The signal area of the stamper 11 was a pit withtrack pitch of 0.6 μm and the depth of 110 nm.

Using the molding processes of Example 1 and Example 2, the obtained pitdepth was 70 nms and the maximum absolute value of birefringence was in80 nms. First, a toggle type molding machine will be discussed.

The increase of the injection compression force for improvingreplication in the mold of FIG. 1 resulted in distortion of the resin inthe cavity 10 to enlarge the absolute value of birefringence. Theincrease of the clamping force in the mold of FIG. 2 resulted inenlarging the absolute value of birefringence. Table 10 shows the resultof measuring the change of the pit depth according to the change of moldtemperature and sprue temperature which is included in moldingconditions of having the absolute value of birefringence of 50 nm orless. Temperature of the both molds, the stationary mold 6, and themovable mold 7 were controlled to be the same. The resin temperature wasfixed to be 380° C. which is regarded as the upper limit inconsideration of the decomposition initiating temperature of thepolycarbonate. The molding cycle was 15 seconds.

                  TABLE 10                                                        ______________________________________                                        mold temperature                                                                             sprue temperature                                                                         pit depth                                          ______________________________________                                        125° C. 60° C.                                                                              71 nm                                             125° C. 80° C.                                                                              76 nm                                             125° C. 100° C.                                                                             80 nm                                             130° C. 60° C.                                                                             108 nm                                             135° C. 60° C.                                                                             109 nm                                             140° C. 60° C.                                                                             107 nm                                             145° C. 60° C.                                                                             110 nm                                             ______________________________________                                    

Table 10 shows that a mold temperature of 130° C. is sufficient forreplicating a track pitch of 0.6 μm, and a pit depth of 110 nm. However,since a substrate molded with the mold temperature of 145° C. had apropeller-like warp shape, it was determined that this can not beapplied to an optical disk substrate. It was also observed that spruetemperature has a little influence on disk substrate quality.

In general, "mold temperature" refers to the temperature to control themedium flowing in the mold. However, the temperature of the cavity 10 towhich the melted resin is filled into is virtually essential in moldingoperation. Then the mirror surface temperature in the vicinity of thesurface of the cavity 10, which fluctuates in a cycle of molding, wasmeasured to determine the temperature at the time the melted resin wasinjected. This temperature is defined to be the "mold mirror surfacetermperature" herein. The mold mirror surface temperature when the moldtemperature was 145° C., and the substrate had a propeller-like warpshape, was 150° C., or the glass transition temperature ofpolycarbonate. Consequently it was learned that the mold mirror surfacetemperature should be lower than the glass transition temperature of theresin material, preferably lower by 5° C. or more. The mold mirrorsurface temperature at the time of the mold temperature of 130° C. was135° C.

Table 11 shows the result of measuring the change of the pit depthaccording to the change of the stationary mold 6 temperature with thetemperature of the movable mold 7 in which the stamper 11 was installedremained unchanged at 135° C. The sprue temperature was 60° C.

                  TABLE 11                                                        ______________________________________                                        stable mold temperature                                                                         pit depth                                                   ______________________________________                                        110° C.    110 nm                                                      120° C.    107 nm                                                      130° C.    108 nm                                                      135° C.    109 nm                                                      140° C.    109 nm                                                      ______________________________________                                    

It was observed from the results that the temperature of the mold nothaving the stamper installed therein did not affect replication.

Therefore if the temperature of the mold having the stamper installedtherein is 130° C. or more, a pit with a 0.6 μm track pitch and 110 nmdepth can be replicated well.

From the above Example, it was observed that in order to have a productby molding a substrate with an outside diameter of 120 mm, and a depthof 0.6 mm that is preferable for practical use, at least the mold mirrorsurface temperature of the mold having the stamper installed thereinshould be lower than the glass transition temperature of the resinmaterial by from 5 K to 25 K, preferably in the range of by from 5 K to15 K.

Herein the case with the molding cycle fixed at 15 seconds will bediscussed. With a shorter molding cycle, the mirror surface temperaturebecomes higher even if the mold temperature remains unchanged. Thus therelationship among the mold mirror surface temperature, replication andbirefringence when the molding cycle changes, namely, 15 seconds, 12seconds, 8 seconds was examined. It was observed that the mold mirrorsurface temperature which enables a sufficient replication and abirefringence of 50 nm or less was independent from the molding cycle.

It was also learned that when the mold of FIG. 2 was used in a straighthydraulic type molding machine, the same result was found as the casewhen the mold of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 was used in a toggle type moldingmachine. That is, in order to have a product sufficient for practicaluse by molding a substrate with an outside diameter of 120 mm, depth of0.6 mm, at least the mold mirror surface temperature of the mold havingthe stamper installed therein should be lower than the glass transitiontemperature of the resin material by from 5 K to 25 K, preferably in therange of by from 5 K to 15 K.

EXAMPLE 5

The relationship between the pressure on the melted resin and thebirefringence was examined. In this Example the mold of FIG. 1 with atoggle type molding machine is illustrated. Since the pressure on themelted resin cannot be detected directly, the pressure on the screw,namely the reaction force of the melted resin was detected instead bymeans of a pressure gauge installed in the hydraulic circuit 8 of FIG.3. In this case, detected pressure showed an hourly change as shown inFIG. 4, which illustrates the peak pressure in the injection process,the minimum value at the early stage of pressure maintenance process,followed by a gradual increase. The peak pressure was due to filling ofthe melted resin after the cavity 10 became full, the minimum value inthe pressure maintenance process was due to the reflux of the meltedresin which was not accommodated in the cavity 10 toward the sprue bush27, nozzle 9, screw 3 and counteracted the melted resin pushed forwardby the screw 3. The gradual increase of the resin pressure then was dueto the pressure maintenance.

Based on the pressure change of FIG. 4, filling of the melted resin intothe cavity 10 was terminated in the vicinity of the time at which thepressure of the melted resin becomes minimum. The cut punch 18 of FIG. 1was projected. The injection compression force was increased from 4 tonsto 20 tons almost at the same time as the termination of the cut punch18 projection. In other words, the compression process was started, andthe results are shown in Table 12.

The outside diameter of the substrate was 120 mm, and the desiredsubstrate thickness was 0.6 mm. The minimum cavity width was thinnerthan the desired substrate thickness by 0.5 mm, and the compressionmargin was 0.2 mm. The signal area of the stamper 11 was a pit with atrack pitch of 0.6 μm and a depth of 110 nm. A polycarbonate resin wasused as the resin material. The resin temperature was 380° C., the moldtemperature was 135° C., and the sprue temperature was 60° C. Theclamping force was 40 tons. The molding cycle was 15 seconds. Thebirefringence was measured by the vertical incidence of a parallel rayof a helium neon gas laser and the value of the double path wasmeasured.

                  TABLE 12                                                        ______________________________________                                        time        absolute value of birefringence                                   ______________________________________                                        -0.15 sec   48 nm                                                             -0.1 sec    45 nm                                                               0 sec     31 nm                                                             0.1 sec     39 nm                                                             0.2 sec     45 nm                                                             0.3 sec     49 nm                                                             0.4 sec     66 nm                                                             ______________________________________                                         Note:                                                                         time is based on the minimum time of the melted resin pressure as the         standard.                                                                

Table 12 shows that the absolute value of birefringence becomes 50 nm orless in the period prior to the point 0.3 second after the time at whichthe pressure on the melted resin becomes minimum.

It is preferable that the compression process starts at the same time asor prior to the termination of filling the melted resin into the cavity10. This is because the pressure on the resin in the cavity 10 isrelaxed by the commencement of the compression process. If it starts ator prior to 0.15 second after the point at which the stress on themelted resin becomes minimum, the variation of substrate thicknesswidened to ±50 μm or more. Therefore, it is preferable to close theinflow port for filling the melted resin or to start the compressionprocess in the period from 0.1 second before to 0.3 second after thetime at which the pressure on the melted resin becomes minimum.

In this Example a toggle type molding machine was used. However, thesame operation was conducted with a straight hydraulic type moldingmachine applying a first clamping force of 4 tons and a second clampingforce of 20 tons while the other conditions were kept the same, andsimilar results were obtained.

Although a polycarbonate resin was used in Examples 1 to 5, other typesof resins can be used as well.

EXAMPLE 6

The relationship between the pressure on the resin in the cavity 10 andthe birefringence was examined in Example 5. The time at which thepressure on the melted resin in the cavity 10 becomes minimum variesaccording to the type of the molding machine, or molding conditions.Thus, the apparatus for producing disk substrates of the invention wasdesigned to operate by detecting the time at which the pressure on themelted resin in the cavity 10 becomes minimum, and closing the inflowport for injecting the melted resin or starting the compression processin the period from 0.1 second before to 0.3 second after the point atwhich the pressure on the melted resin becomes minimum.

The structure of the apparatus of the invention is illustrated in FIG.5. The hourly change of the pressure in the cavity 10 was detected bythe detector of the pressure on the screw 29 and converted into voltagechange. The voltage information from the detector of the pressure on thescrew 29 was differentiated to determine the first zero crossing time inthe pressure maintenance process.

The process of detecting the zero crossing time is illustrated in FIGS.6 (a) to 6 (e). The signal (a) is the output from the detector of thepressure on the screw 29. The signal (b) is the differential signal ofthe signal (a). The signal (c) is the pulse detected when the signal (b)crosses zero. The signal (d) is a gate signal showing a plus value afterthe pressure maintenance process. The signal (e) is the product of thesignal (c) and (d), illustrating the time at which the signal (b)crosses zero for the first time in the pressure maintenance process. Theprocessing from the signal (b) to the signal (e) is conducted by thedetector of the time at which the pressure becomes minimum 30.

Then, with the minimum pressure time as the starting point, the timer 31and the timer 32 were set to start operation of the cut punch projectionhydraulic circuit 33 and the clamping hydraulic circuit 34 after aspecific period so that the cut punch was projected and the firstclamping was converted to the second clamping when a mold without a corepushing mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 2 was used. When a mold with acore pushing mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 1 was used, the timer 31and the timer 32 were set to start operation of the cut punch projectionhydraulic circuit 33 and the injection compression hydraulic circuit 35after a specific period so that the cut punch was projected, and theinjection compression force was reinforced to the higher pressure. Thespecific period set by the timer 31 and the timer 32 was in the range offrom 0 second to 0.3 second, and it was preferable that the duration setby the timer 32 was the same as or shorter than the duration set by thetimer 31. As a result of this operation, a result similar to Example 5was obtained.

The overall structure of the production machine of disk substrates ofthe invention comprises an opening and closing means to open and close apair of molds, a heating means to melt the resin, an injection means tofill the melted resin into the cavity between the pair of the closedmolds, a pressure maintenance means to prevent reflux of the resin inthe cavity toward the inflow port, a compression means to further clampthe pair of the molds after filling, a means to detect the time at whichthe pressure of the resin filled in the cavity becomes minimum, whereinthe inflow port through which the melted resin is filled into the cavityis closed or the compression operation is commenced in the periodbetween 0 second and 0.3 second after the time at which the pressure ofthe resin becomes minimum.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for producing an optical disk substratecomprising the steps of injecting molten resin into a cavity formedbetween a pair of molds and narrowing the width of the cavity bycompressing the molds, wherein the minimum cavity width is narrower thanthe desired optical disk substrate thickness by more than 0 mm and lessthan 0.1 mm, the maximum cavity width is wider than the minimum cavitywidth by more than 0.15 mm and less than 0.3 mm, and at least oneinitial force selected from the group consisting of the initial moldclamping force and the initial injection compression force is applied infilling the resin into the cavity and the force is more than 0 ton andless than 10 tons.
 2. The process for producing an optical disksubstrate according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the molds has astamper installed therein and the mirror surface temperature of at leastthe mold having the stamper therein is controlled to be lower than theglass transition temperature of the resin material by more than 5 K andless than 25 K.
 3. The process for producing an optical disk substrateaccording to claim 1, wherein a means to dry a resin material beforemelting is further installed.
 4. A process for producing an optical disksubstrate according to claim 1, wherein after the initial force isapplied, a pressure greater than the initial force is applied formolding.